[7] The move to limit the number of days was backed by the council's Irish nationalists while the Alliance Party abstained from the vote; it was opposed by the unionist councillors.

[11] In 1964 there were riots after a republican election candidate put an Irish tricolour (which was then illegal) in the window of his office on the Falls Road, Belfast.

[16] In the May 2010 general election, Naomi Long of Alliance had defeated Peter Robinson of the DUP to win the East Belfast seat.

[6] Some commentators believed that the DUP had been waiting for a chance to weaken the Alliance Party and win back their former voters in East Belfast.

The Chief Superintendent said: Clearly there was a level of orchestration – some people brought bolt cutters, others put on masks immediately after the vote came throughOn 4 December, Alliance Party councillor Laura McNamee was forced to move from her east Belfast home after receiving threats.

Also present were Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) leader Billy Hutchinson and Ulster Defence Association (UDA) commander Jackie McDonald.

Police were attacked in south Belfast, where loyalists blocked a road near the City Hospital with a burning barricade and tried to hijack vehicles.

Rioters threw petrol bombs, fireworks, bricks, stones and bottles; police responded with plastic bullets and water cannon.

About 400 people had gathered near the city hall for a peaceful protest for the first time since the vote as a result of a call through social media.

[39][40][41] On 9 January, the Union Jack was raised at the city hall for the first time since the vote in commemoration of Kate Middleton's birthday.

Petrol bombs, fireworks and stones were thrown at police, who responded with plastic bullets and water cannons; four PSNI officers were injured as a result of the rioting.

A press photographer who was covering the riot in Newtownabbey was robbed at knifepoint, while a bus was set alight in the same area and a car was hijacked in north Belfast.

The protesters clapped, cheered, whistled, and banged drums for five minutes as a show of "anti-silence", saying that it represents "the silent majority" opposed to the violence.

Later, about 200 loyalists blocked Albertbridge Road and Castlereagh Street, while a line of riot police separated them from a crowd that had gathered at Short Strand.

[48] The rioting of 14 January began when masked loyalist protesters petrol bombed Catholic homes around St Matthew's Church, at the edge of Short Strand.

[58] First Minister Peter Robinson attended a meeting with loyalist leaders as well as local church and community representatives at the Skainos Centre in East Belfast.

[59] On 27 January, several hundred loyalists held a peaceful protest in Derry's Waterside area, with Willie Frazer of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR) and Henry Reilly of UKIP in attendance.

[67] On 14 March, a small loyalist protest was held outside a new leisure centre in Bangor as it was being visited by Sinn Féin's Carál Ní Chuilín.

[68] The same day, a man was charged with sending three hoax bomb warnings by detectives investigating offences linked to the flag protests.

The riot reportedly started when loyalists tried to hold a protest outside pubs in Shaftesbury Square, but were pushed back to Donegall Road by police.

[72] On 24 April, Willie Frazer and Jim Dowson launched a new unionist party known as the Protestant Coalition at the La Mon Hotel near Belfast.

[73] On 1 May, the DUP officially abandoned its campaign to have the Union Flag flown every day on the cenotaph of Belfast City Hall.

[74] A few days later, the DUP's Sammy Wilson—Northern Ireland's Minister of Finance—ordered that the Union Flag be flown from all government buildings run by the Department of Finance.

[79] On 6 August, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Sinn Féin councillor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir was attacked by a large crowd of loyalists during the reopening of Woodvale Park, forcing the event to be abandoned.

1,000 loyalists initially gathered at Belfast City Hall, but the march began later than agreed and was thus in breach of a Parades Commission ruling.

[82] On 14 October, First Minister Peter Robinson urged loyalists planning large demonstrations leading up to the Christmas period to think about the possible consequences protests would have on business and jobs.

He and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were due to meet the British and Irish governments the following week and that Robinson would make it "very clear" about the condemnation of the wider Northern Ireland community for the violence.

[91][92] The Progressive Unionist Party's Billy Hutchinson condemned the clashes,[93] while his colleague, Phil Hamilton, criticised the PSNI for not deploying enough officers to the Short Strand area on 12 January to prevent violence.

[94] The UDA's Jimmy Birch told the BBC's Radio Ulster: "Every time they call a tune, we take to the streets.

[95] In September 2013, business representatives in Belfast revealed that the flag protests had resulted in losses totaling £50 million in the year to July 2013.